The present invention generally relates to apparatus and methods for flipping and aligning a flexible, continuous sheet, particularly to food processing apparatus and methods for flipping and aligning a dough sheet into a folded, two-ply continuous sheet, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for flipping and aligning a dough sheet for the preparation of a snack product by conventional deep fat frying.
One type of snack product which has gained wide market acceptance is the "puffed" snack piece. In certain methods of preparation, a cooked farinaceous dough is formed into a single continuous dough sheet. This dough sheet is then run through a piece forming apparatus which includes an opposed pair of rollers at least one of which has depressions which stamp out the desired shape and size pieces from the dough sheet. After formation of the dough pieces, the pieces are dried under controlled conditions from a moisture content of about 18% down to a moisture content of between 12% and 14% to form a pellet called a half product piece. The moisture content of the half product piece is sufficiently low to exhibit extended shelf stability. The snack product is prepared from the half product piece by conventional deep fat frying. The frying of the half product piece generates steam volumes inside of the half product piece to puff the half product piece resulting in a light, puffed snack piece having surface corrugations
The sale of snack food products is a highly competitive business. The novelty of snack food products decline rapidly, as new and different types of snack foods are introduced to maintain or increase market share. Puffed snack pieces can be varied in various ways such as by changing the shapes, sizes, and surface corrugations of the pieces or by changing the composition of the dough from which the half product pieces are prepared. Another variation is to have the puffed snack piece of a hollow structure, with the hollow configuration resulting from the fabrication of the half product pieces from a two-layer laminated dough sheet.
One method of forming a laminated dough sheet is to fold a single continuous dough sheet into a two-plied dough sheet. However, the formation of such a two-plied dough sheet continuously from a single dough sheet presents many problems. In particular, even though the free edges of the folded sheet are initially aligned, the free edges will tend to travel relative to each other upon continued operation of a folding device. This problem is particularly severe as the speed of operation of the machinery increases. The failure to provide an evenly folded two-ply dough sheet results in improper feeding into the dough piece former. At the one, misaligned free edge, defective half product pieces are formed. At the other end, an excess of dough material is fed to the piece former resulting in either generation of scrap material, deformation of formed pieces, or both.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide novel apparatus and methods for the continuous creation of a two-plied sheet from a single sheet.
Another object of the present invention is to provide novel apparatus and methods for folding a dough sheet and aligning the folded sheet into a two-plied sheet.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide novel apparatus and methods for continuously fabricating a two-plied dough sheet from a single dough sheet. In this regard, the free edges of the folded sheet are aligned even with continuous and high speed operation.